Elephant Bedroom Camp - Samburu

A truly authentic experience a great base for safaris. Comfortable accommodation attentive service and lovely food. Set by the riverbank there's always plenty of activity to witness. We stayed for two nights had 4. game drives and daw loads of wildlife

Samburu National Reserve offers exceptional wildlife viewing in a natural setting. Lions, cheetah, elephants, giraffes, antelope, elephants, leopards, hippos, etc. graze, hunt, and roam in their natural habitat. Truly an unforgettable experience.

This was the second part of our Safari in the Samburu after spending three nights in the Mara (see review on Saruni Mara). We had read all the reviews about Elephants in the camp, but were sceptical about the reviews. The camp is situated in the heart of the Samburu national park right on the river opposite Buffalo Springs National Park. The camp is made up of 12 standard tents and two deluxe. The standard tents are numbered 1-12 and the two deluxe have names, Lakira being one, which we stayed in. The camp is ideally situated because it is on the path of a group of about 15 elephants and each of the three mornings we were there, the Elephants made their way across the river from Buffalo Springs, through the camp, with everyone being evacuated during breakfast. Wow. ..... Secondly our tent being at the end of the camp, was also a pathway across the river for the Elephants and everyday, they would be just a few feet away from our veranda, a fantastic treat. We even had Obama (Male elephant) rip open the Velcro covering on our pool and drinking from it, amazing. So yes if you want to see Elephants in your garden this is the place to stay. The camp and tents are all very high end, it was nice to have a choice of food for both lunch and evening meal and the staff were very attentive along with Julius our driver, they made the whole stay very magical for us. At the time of year we went we saw many elephants, a herd of 40 on one day. Seeing a Leopard at the end of our last day was the icing on the cake. The only minor criticism is that because there is a shortage of tables on the shoreline, the manager should not bag one of those tables for herself and her guests, she should allow paying guests that choice.

We absolutely loved Elephant Bedroom Camp - the 'tents' are huge, clean and very comfortable. Samburu is a great park and we saw masses of wildlife and particularly like the fact that elephants and impala wander around EBC. The views of the river and surrounding wildlife are beautiful. The food was excellent with good menu choice - so nice NOT to have a buffet as in the larger lodges. The staff were absolutely wonderful, friendly and welcoming and Carmen, the manager, was a joy, really showing care to all who stayed there. She even arranged for our guide (he was with us for 10 days on a private safari) and other guides to end our game drives in the bush, where EBC had set up chairs and a bar for sundowners. A very sociable small camp which we thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommend, you need to book well in advance!

The hot water buckles in the bed and the candles in the bathroom next to the clawfoot tub were such a special touch. Getting hot tea or coffee in the morning before the game. Drive to wake you up with homemade sugar. Cookies was lovely. In the middle of nowhere, we were fed sumptuous, meals.

What an amazing experience at Elephant Bedroom camp. The rooms were spacious, beds were comfortable and the rooms were always clean. We felt safe the entire time, even with the resident elephants roaming through camp (which we considered an added bonus). Plenty of food options, both vegetarian and non. We didn't have a bad meal and loved eating by the river watching the elephants across the river. We also loved being able to take a dip in our plunge pool after game drives to cool off. Our game driver, Julius, was absolutely amazing. He was so knowledgable, was always one step ahead of the animals so we got the best experiences. Samburu was a great complementary park to the Mara. Different animals, different terrain. Would recommend EBC to anyone traveling to Kenya!

I can't really do a full review as we didn't actually stay here as originally planned. So I am not able to rate the location or facilities. What I can rate is the staff. We were supposed to stay here for 4 nights in November, 2023. Unfortunately the day we were supposed to arrive, the camp was flooded and everyone had to be evacuated. We didn't even get to actually see the facility. But what they did to relocate us, and the service they provided to compensate was top notch. Carmen was the manager of the camp, and she made sure we had accommodations that were nearby. They she also came and spoke with us every day of our stay to make sure things were going well for us and keep us informed of their situation. She had hoped they would get the camp restored so we could go back, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The lodge we stayed at did not provide the exact same level of service, but Carmen made sure that the cost of anything the EBC would have provided during our stay was covered by them, so we didn't have to pay anything more out of pocket. I thought this was a very nice thing to do, as they could not control the weather, and the flooding was no more their fault than ours. James (007) was our game driver during our stay and he was fantastic. I've rarely met a person so full of life and happiness. Always smiling, laughing, and super friendly. He did his very best to find us so many things to view during the game drives. And he did a fanstastic job. The only tip I would give him is that he was maybe a little too popular. Every single time we passed another jeep, he had to stop and have a chat with the other driver. I know often they do this to give each other tips on where the latest sightings have been. But I strongly suspect (given the degree of laughter involved) that much of those chats were also just socializing. We couldn't understand the conversations in swahili, but it seemed like much more than just a quick tip or direction. We did have to sit and wait a lot during these chats, and that got a little much at times. But it's hard to say it was bad service when he was just so friendly and happy all the time. Overall, the service we did receive from the two staff members we encountered was fantastic. I hope to one day return to Kenya and actually stay at the camp.